WALTHAM – During the final minutes of practice Friday, the Boston Celtics worked on half-court sets beginning from sideline out of bounds situations – in other words, the same scenario teams see after late-fourth quarter timeouts.

The spirited competition included some fun – Courtney Lee diagrammed a successful play, joking that he did so because assistant coach Jay Larranaga wasn’t putting his team in good enough situations – but it also stayed with Friday’s theme: finish.

“Finishing is (an emphasis),” said head coach Brad Stevens. “Not necessarily the game, but we missed quite a few layups on the last trip, and when you think about two 2-point losses, those can add up. There were a couple of possessions where if we dug deep, we would be able to finish those better. Finishing at the end of the shot clock, and maybe making one more pass, or maybe being a little bit stronger in our last moves. So finishing has been an emphasis (Friday), and will continue to be moving forward.”

Obviously, regular season fourth quarters will unfold differently than the frantic, second-unit-led comebacks that have dotted the preseason. But Stevens believes the Celtics are taking steps forward.

“The preseason games are for getting better,” he said. “I’d like to see us squeeze one of those close wins out, but at the end of the day we are improving. And there are a lot of things under our control that we feel like we can get better at, so that maybe we can win a couple of those close ones.”

Asked about his comment Wednesday that the Celtics need to play a full 48-minute game, the coach continued, “I think you go back to the idea of finishing. A game in the NBA, at least to me, I’m sitting there, is a little bit of a marathon. It’s a long, long game with a ton of possessions. You have to be as good as you can on as many of those as possible, and stay the course on those. And we have been for more minutes, just not enough.”

Coach Lee?

As mentioned before, Lee grabbed the clipboard from assistant coach Jay Larranaga toward the end of practice and began to diagram plays.

"I was trying to help Jay, he was struggling over there against the white team," laughed the shooting guard. "He was putting us in bad positions, so I tried to help him out."

After the green team hit consecutive shots on his plays, Lee touted his designs as winners.

"(I) hit a bucket, then Jared (Sullinger) hit a three," he said. "And then we went back to Jay and we let him draw up a play, and you saw what happened."

An empty possession.

So maybe coaching is in Lee's future?

"Where's Danny (Ainge)?" he smiled. "All of them, they need to holler at me."

On a more serious note, Lee said, "You saw us working on a couple of (late-game situations) here today. Last couple of games we lost by two points, we had a chance to win or tie the game and we came up short. Practicing them is very important."

Rotation fluid?

During the preseason, Stevens has given just about everybody a chance. Some guys (like MarShon Brooks and Vitor Faverani) have seen more sporadic minutes, but the rotation does not seem entirely settled -- and it might not be throughout the season, even if Stevens would love to find nine or 10 guys he can trust.

“I think the interesting part is, we have a lot of even-ness on our team," he said. "So what happens on Oct. 30 may not be what happens on Feb. 1. It’s going to be changed, it’s going to be tweaked. You’re going to go through some good times and some bad times, and you end up changing your lineups on that some. But I think that you would ideally get to a spot where you’re playing nine to 10 guys pretty consistently.”

Rondo support still on full blast

Asked whether leadership roles have changed since last season, Stevens again planted himself firmly in point guard Rajon Rondo's corner.

“I don’t know what the leadership roles were like last year because I wasn’t here. The guy that’s been the most vocal leader for us has been Rondo. I think he’s done a really good job of it," said Stevens.

Since calling himself Rondo's biggest fan during a press conference to introduce him as the new coach, Stevens has made a habit of complimenting the injured All-Star whenever possible.

Stevens has mixed emotions about Colts-Broncos

Stevens' son is named Brady, but the coach does not hide his affinity for Peyton Manning or the Indianapolis Colts. Given the mixed emotions of Manning meeting his former team this weekend, Stevens is okay the Celtics game won't end in time for kickoff.

"I do like the Colts," said Stevens. "I grew up in Indianapolis, I was a Colts fan through the Manning era and got to know all those guys really well. It would be an interesting game to watch, and I know a lot of my friends are looking forward to going to that game. But like everybody else who grew up in Indiana or has Indiana ties, you have to be thankful for what Peyton Manning did.

"What he did for that city, it's unbelievable. That is a basketball state and it's got a huge football (feel) to it. He had a huge role in that. Downtown, the buildings and everything else, he made such a huge difference. That whole organization did, and they continue to do great things. That's a hard game to watch -- I'm glad we're playing."

Injury updates on Phil Pressey, Kris Humphries

For more on the statuses of Pressey and Humphries, who both missed Wednesday's game, click here.